Cactus TV and ITV3, in partnership with the Crime Writers' Association (CWA), are pleased to announce the winners of the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2012, a showcase of the UK's most wanted crime fiction and drama, hosted by Bradley Walsh.

A host of famous faces from TV, Film and Publishing which included Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Rupert Penry-Jones and Steven Berkoff gathered on the black carpet for a gala awards ceremony celebrating the very best offences of the year at London's Grosvenor House Hotel. The awards ceremony, now in its fourth year, formed a crescendo to ITV 3's six week season of crime and drama programming including a specially commissioned documentary series called Crime Connections, featuring crime writers, actors, producers and directors.

Winners on the night were:

Specsaver's Bestseller Dagger 2012: Kathy Reichs

CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of the Year sponsored by Constable and Robinson: Gene Kerrigan, The Rage

CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger, sponsored by Goldsboro Books: Wiley Cash, A Land More Kind than Home

Gene Kerrigan's The Rage won the CWA Gold Dagger. His suspense driven storm of violence set in the backstreets of Dublin proved unbeatable, an immense accolade given the literary oomph of his co-nominees: MR Hall's The Flight, Chris Womersley's Bereft and Vengeance in Mind by NJ Cooper, previously Chair of the Crime Writers' Association.

Gene Kerrigan commented: "I'm aware of the writers who have previously received the Gold Dagger and I'm honoured to have my name on the same page."

The CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller was taken home by Charles Cumming for A Foreign Country. Despite being regarded as one of the best of the new generation of British spy writers, A Foreign Country was by no means assured of success, pitted as it was against some monumental thrillers: Megan Abbott's Dare Me, which revealed the bitter power rivalries of a cheerleading squad, Robert Harris's much lauded The Fear Index and Neal Stephenson's Reamde which portrays the world of hacking.

Charles Cumming said "For spy writers, the Steel Dagger is our Booker prize, so I'm thrilled to have won such a prestigious award. Some great writers have picked up the Steel Dagger, including Henry Porter, Dan Fesperman and Tom Rob Smith. I'm honoured to have joined their ranks."

The CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger was awarded to Wiley Cash, named the best new crime author of the year for A Land More Kind than Home. Cash toughed it out against serious competition from Tanya Byrne's Heart-Shaped Bruise, Tom Wright's What Dies in Summer and Ewart Hutton's Good People to win the title for his tale of the smarting underbelly of religious fanaticism of his Deep South youth.

Wiley Cash said "As an American writer, it's a shock and a real honor to win an award in a genre with such a proud British tradition."

The Bestseller Dagger was awarded to Kathy Reichs. All five shortlisted authors were also inaugurated into the Crime Thriller Hall of Fame alongside such all-time greats as Colin Dexter, Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Kathy Reichs said "Given the extraordinary company in which I find myself nominated for this award, I can't express how shocked and delighted I am. This is truly an unexpected honor."

Amanda Ross, creator and executive producer of the Awards, said: "This has been a fantastic year for the genre, and it was great to see so many star authors and actors at the event."

The cream of acting talent is also recognised at the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards with categories for Best UK and International Crime Series, Best Actor, Best Actress in a Crime series and Best Film. The British public also voted for their favourite detective duo by phone vote. Winners are as follows: